Beer and nuts have long been associated with one another like doughnuts and coffee, peanut butter and jelly, bacon and eggs. However, a unique problem exists with dispensing beer and nuts in that beer and nuts are often eaten when the eater is “on the move” such as through a crowd, shaking hands at a party.
Another scenario is where the eater is in the company of a number of people, such as at a bar or around a pool. Nuts are not “ladled out” to individuals like mash potatoes or slices of beef. The nuts are placed in an open dish and the eater is invited to ‘grab a handful”. Oftentimes the eater's hand is not quite big enough to grab as many nuts as he would like to satisfy his appetite. Then the dispensing of nuts becomes a “polite” contest as to where the dish containing the nuts will finally reside.
Another problem with the “open dish” method of dispensing nuts is that, in the minds of many, the practice of many hands dipping into a common container can result in spreading bacteria.